Box Office: "Transformers" Boasts Biggest Opening Day of the Year

A new cast and some new Transformers seem to be attracting people to the movie theater this weekend, as Michael Bay's "Transformers: Age of Extinction" brought in an estimated $41.6 million at the North American box office Friday -- the biggest opening day of the year so far.

According to Variety, the fourth film in the Transformers series -- which brings the Dinobots to the big screen -- is looking at a $100 million plus opening weekend, which would make it the first film of 2014 to hit triple digits in its first three days. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" brought in $95 million during its opening weekend in April.

In addition, the film has made $80 million overseas, including a record-setting $30 million plus in China.

The movie is doing well despite its critical reception -- the movie currently has a red "31" ranking on Metacritic, which denotes "generally unfavorable reviews." The user score is a more generous, yellow 5.2, or "mixed or average reviews." Writing for SPINOFF ONLINE, Phil Pirrello said, "For the latest installment, 'Transformers: Age of Extinction,' director Michael Bay returns to deliver another round of photorealistic, but painfully lifeless, CG set pieces built on the backs of characters – both robot and human – that make it a near-herculean effort for audiences to give a damn."